Tracker mechanism for player-pianos.



w. E. SHORE.

TRACKER MECHANISM FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED MN. 23. I918 1 Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

1,280,319 SHEETS-SHEET I W. E. SHORE.

TRACKER MECHANiSM FOR PLAYER PIANOS.

APPLICATION HLED JAN. 23. ma

152 80, 3 1 9 Patented Oct. 1, 191-8..

3 $HEETSSHEET 3.

WILLIAM E. SHORE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TRACKER MECHANISM FOR PLAYER-PIANOS/ Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

Application filed January 23, 1918. Serial No. 213,278.

matically controlled tracker mechanisms.

and to devise a mechanical structure of simple form which will be extremely sensi-- tive and instantaneous in its operation in correcting lateral displacement of the music sheet as it passes over the tracker bar.

"The principal feature of this invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, whereby the alinement I of the openings in the music sheet with the ports in the tracker bar is maintained by effooting a lateral movement of one oft the memhere through the direct mechanical operation of a lever which is operated. through a train of gear and said gears are directly controlled by a clutch member which is operatively connected with guiding fingers arranged to engage the edges of the music sheet.

In the accon'ipanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the main portion of my improved control mechanism, portions of the mechanism being broken away.

Fig. 52- is afront elcvational view of the entire tracker mechanism and its supporting frame.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device showing the music roll partly broken away.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the right hand end-of the tracker mechanism, part of the supporting frame being broken away.

Fig. 5 is an end elcvational view of thev left hand end of the device showing the means for operating the rpindlc.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional. view through the train of gears and clutch mechanism.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail plansectional view showing a modified arrangement of portion of the clutch operating mechanism.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged from at at a view of the modification oi" ciutvh oi mechanism shown in Fig. i.

Fig. 9 is an elevational detail view of a modified form of means for operating the roll spindle.

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 9.

Numerous forms of tracking devices have been devised for automatically controlling the tracking of the music sheet to insure the openings in the sheet being maintained in their proper relation to the ports in the tracker bar but such devices have been very ditlicult to retain in adjustment. In the present device I have greatly simplified the construction and reduced the number of working parts to an appreciable extent.

In carrying this invention into effect '1 provide a suitable frame within the piano structure having the uprights 1 and 2 between which the fixed tracker bar 3 extends.

4: and 5 are the tracker guide fingers extending through openings in the tracker bar adjacent to each end and plvotally supported at their inner ends on the brackets 6 and adapted to swing horizontally, being spring held in an inward. direction, that is, toward the center of the tracker bar by suitable springs 7 so to maintain a constant engagement with the edge of the music sheet 8 which travels the-rebetween. I

9 is the music roll, one cndof which is supported upon the shaft 10 which i slidaloly supported in its hearings in a frame 11 secured to the upright 1. The other end of the roll 9 is/supported bv a longitudinally movable spindle 12 lidably ournaled in the bearing 13 and carried in the upright 2.

The other end of the spindle 112 extends beyond the bearing 13 and is held inwardly in supporting engagement with the music roll by means of a lever member 14: which is secured to the end of a crank arm 15 upon which is mounted an adjustable weight 16, said weight holding. the lever 14 in pressure Contact with the spindle.

l'l'is the winding roller supported at one end on asha'ft 18 mounted in bearings in the frame l1 perpendicularly below the shaft 10 and at the other end upon a spring held pindle 19. I

20 is a spur gear wheel mounted upon the shaft 18 adjacent to the inner 'side of the frame 11 and adapted to rotate said spindle i he winding roller. 2 is a shaft iournaled in hearings in the f ame 1 ntermediate/1V letre n the sha t and shaft 18 and having a driving sprocket mounted thereon which sprocket operated by any uitable form of motor.

' is a sprocket wheel loosely mounted I on the shaft 21 and having a laterally ex- .ding tooth 24 extending on the inward side.

is a sleeve slidably arranged upon the shaft 21 and adapted to rotatetherewith ring atoothed projection, 26 adapted to gewith the tooth on the inner side of procket wheel 23. The other end of the sleeve is in the form of a spur pinion 27 Rich is adapted to mesh with the teeth of the spur gear upon the movement of the sleeve longitudinally upon the shaft to disengage same from the sprocket wheel 23.

The sleeve is formed with an annular groove 28 arranged intermediate of its length which is enga ed 13 a in projection from a lever 29 secured to a ro 30 supported perpendicularly in the bearing brackets 31 and 32 forming part of the frame 11.

The rod 30 is rotated by means of a lever 33 secured to its lower end and said lever is operatively handle 34.

The shaft 10 supporting one end of the music roll is rotated by means of a sprocket wheel 35 which is connected with the loose sprocket 23 on the shaft 21 and the sprocket 523 is rotated by means of a toothed projection 26 extendin from the sleeve 25 when said sleeve is shifted so as to move the spur connected to the controlling 5- pinion 27 out of mesh with the gear 20.

37 is a bearing block rigidly secured to the projecting arm 38 of the frame 11 which carries the tracker bar, said block being of bifurcated Iorm and supporting from its 1 inner side a rigid sleeve member 39 in which a sleeve 40 is rotatablv supported, which sleeve extends outwardly and sup orts a spur pinion 41 which rotates therewith and arran ed in perpendicular al'inement over the spur gear 20 and is adapted to intermesh with the pinion 27 when said' pinion is moved into mesh with the gear 20.

4-2 is a sleeve secured on the sleeve 40 having a flanged outer end 43, which is preferably formed of a suitable friction material for a clutch.

is spindle 44 is rotatably supported centrally within the sleeve 40 and extends outwardly beyond the outer end thereof and 1 through theouter plate 45 of the block 37.

it clutch disk 46 is secured to the spindle 44 and is adapted to engage the outer face of the flanged portion 43 of the sleeve 42, the engaging face of said disk being formed with minute serrations or teeth on the surface adapted to grip said flange member.

.7 a spur pinion secured to the spindle 44 and meshing with a spur gear 48 journalcd in hearings in the block '37, said spur gear carrying a pinion 49,

50 is a spur gear journaled in bearings in the block 37 and meshing with the pinion 4-9 and secured to or forming part with this gear is a radially extending arm 51 having a crank pin 52 on its outer end.

. 53 is a rod rotatably supported in brackets 54 and 55 on the outer side of the frame 11 having a lever 56 secured thereto and extending into contact with the outer end of the shaft 10 which is movable longitudinally in its bearings and in its longitudinal movements effects the rotation of the rod 53 through said lever.

57 is an arm secured to the rod 53 and extending inwardly over the top of the block 37 having the perpendicularly arranged (pin end 58 upon which is slidably arrange a sleeve 59 which at its outer end is mounted upon the crank pin 52 of the spur gear 50.

It will be seen that-the rotation of the shaft 21 when the pinion 27 is in mesh with the gear 20 and with the pinion 41 the said pinion 41 causes the rotation of the flange sleeve 42 and when the clutch disk, which is mounted u' on the spindle 44 rotatably arranged ind pendently of the pinion 41, is held in contact with the flange 43 the said spindle 44 is rotated and through the tram of gears described rotates the gear 50. The rotation of the gear 50 swings the radial arm 51 and this arm carries with it the swinging the lever 56 to press upon or release the-pressure upon the shaft 10, effecting the longitudinal movement of said shaft to correct the altered position of the shaft 10 and also the music carried thereon.

In order to operate this mechanism in the control of the position of the music roll I provide the lever 60 pivotally mounted upon a supporting member 61 arranged upon the block 37, said lever being adapted to engage the end of the spindle 44 and thereby pushing in upon said rod to bring the clutch disk into engagement with the co-acting clutch member 43. The movement of the lever 60 is accomplished direct from the guide fingers 4 and 5 by means of rods 62 and 63.

The rod 62 is connected at one end to the guide finger 4 and at the other end to one end of an arm 64 pivotally mounted intermediate of its length on the free end of the lever 60. The rod 63 is connected to the other end of the arm 64 and to the guide finger 5. \Vhen the edge of the music sheet presses against the finger 4 the rod 62 pushes on the member 64'sw1nging the lever 60 on its pivot to exert a slight pressure against the end of the spindle 44 thereby pressing the clutch disk 46 into engagement with the clutch flange 43. This causes the spindle to be rotated and the train of gears is thus brought into operation causing the lever 56 to swing and thereby through the sleeve 59,

rm 57 and lever 56 pressing against the end of the shaft 10 against the longitudinal pressure effected in the other direction by the weighted crank arm 15 restoring the roll. to its normal position.-

v In the event of the music sheetfioating in the other direction and coming into active contact with the guide finger 5 the outward swinging of said guide fingci. pulls upon the rod (33 and-swings the lever 60 on its pivot to release the pressure against the spindle 44 consequently releasing the clutch and the spring pressure against the shaft 10 swings the lever 56 and arm 57 to return the gear 50 to its normal position which is maintained in equilibrium being free to move in either direction upon the slightest touch on the guidii ig finger. The music sheet runs in its normal course, that is with the note perforations in true alinement with the ports in the tracker bar, without affecting the control mechanism but the slightest deviation from this course will exert a pressure againsteither one of the guide fingers & or 5 and cause the operation of the mechanism in the manner described which therefore automatically adjusts the music roll to n'iaintain the note perforations in the music sheet in alinement with the ports in the tracker bar.

In the operation of the control. lever which causes the rotation of the rod 30 and the swinging of the lever to operate the sleeve 25, the fingers 4 and 5 are spread apart by means of a bent rod 66 which is secured to a pin 67 in the lever 29 and extends through a hole in the upright 1 and is hooked around the inner side of the guide finger 4 so that as the sleeve 25 is moved outwardly to connect the rewinding gear the said rod pulls the finger outwardly. As the finger 4 thus swings upon its pivot it pushes upon the upper rod 62 which tilts the pivotal arm 64 upon its pivot pushing the rod 63 and thereby swinging the pivotal guide finger 5 in an outward direction. Both fingers are thus held quite clear of the path of movement of the music sheet as it is being rewound upon the spool.

The construction described and shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, t and 6 may be departed from and many detail alterations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. v

In Figs. 7 and 8 a slight change in construction is shown the spindle 44 extends to the inner side of the upright 1 and the lever 60 is mounted upon the bracket 68 and carries the pivotal member 69 corresponding with the member 62 and may be connected to the guide finger 4 as previously described in regard to the member ('32, or it may be found desirable to utilize the one guide linger in which instance the member 60 is formed as shown in Fig. 8 with an extension arm 70 which is adapted to engage the underside of the tracker bar and is provided with a pin 71 belowthe supporting pivot.

The pin 71 is maintained in engagement with a swinging arm 72 pivotally mounted .on a member 73 adjustably supported in the music roll from its alinement and that it" will operate instantaneously. To accomplish this a very sensitive clutch is required and the desired result is achieved by having i one of the clutch members formed of a fairly soft material which might be fiber,- aluminum, soft brass or other similar material and the other formed of harder material having a plurality of very fine serrations formed upon the surface which will give its clutching qualities without necessitating very much movement to cause the clutch to operate.

A device such as described is instantaneous in its operation, can be adjusted to very great accuracy and will operate all the parts quickly and automatically and will there fore be very much more positive and quick in operation and less liable to get out of order than will any devices which are operated by air.

The control mechanism is herein described as effecting the shifting of the music roll to maintain the alinement with the tracker barvbut it is within the purview of those skilled. in the art to apply the mechanism herein described to shift the tracker bar instead of shifting the music roll to effect the same result.

The detail modification illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 shows a slightly different structure for moving. the music roll spindle longitudinally in the one direction. In this modification the spindle 12 is formed with a toothed rack 12 which is engaged by a spur pinion 12journaled in a bracket 13 supported on the frame. The pinion is secured to the cranked end of a lever H upon which an adjustable weight 16 is arranged.

What I claim as my invention is:-

1. In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination with a tracker bar and rolls supporting a music sheet of a lever adapted to control the transverse movement of one of the aforesaid members to maintain registration between the music sheet and tracker bar, a rotatable member connected with and p rati g said lever, a

rtatable member,

clutch controlling the movement of said romeans for driving said clutch, guiding fingers adapted to engage the music sheet in passage over the tracker bar, and meansconnected with said guiding fingers adapted to operate said clutch.

2. In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination with a tracker bar and rolls supporting a music sheet, of a lever adapted to control the transverse movement of one of the aforesaid members to main tain registration between the music sheet and tracker bar, a rotatable member pivotally connected with and operating said lever, a spur gear secured to said rotatable member, a train of gears connected with said spur gear, a clutch member operatively connected with said train of gears, a driving clutch member cooperating with the aforesaid clutch, a lever adapted to bring said clutch members into operating contact, guiding fingers adapted to engage the music sheet inits passage over the tracker bar, and means connecting said fingers with said clutch operating lever.

I n a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination with a tracker bar and rolls supporting a music sheet, of a lever adapted to control the transverse movement of one of the aforesaid members to maintain registration between the music sheet and tracker bar, a rotatable member pivotally connected with and operating said lever, a spur gear secured to said rotatable member, a train of gears connected with said spur gear, a clutch member operatively connected with said train of gears, and supported on a longitudinally movable spindle, a driving clutch nember rotatably supported on a fixed journal and adapted to be engaged by the aforesaid clutch member to effect the rotation of said train of gears, a lever pivotally sup-p0 -.;d and having one end operatively engaging the slidable spindle, a pair of guiding fingers arranged one at each side. of the music sheet and spring held in contact with the or go of the sheet, a rod connecting the lever contr'olling the clutch spindle with one of said fingers and adapted upon the outward movement of the finger to bring the clutch members into operating contact to rotate the train of gears and to operate the lever controlling the alinement ot' the music sheet and tracker bar, and a rod connecting the other of said guiding fingers with the lever controlling the clutch spindle and adapted to release the clutch, and means for effecting the transverse movement of the member effecting the registration between the music sheet and tracker bar.

4; In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination with the tracker bar and rolls supporting a music sheet, of pressure means for moving one of said members transversely, a lever engaging said movable member and adapted to control the trans verse movement thereof, a rotatable member pivotally connected with said lever and adapted to swing it upon its pivot, a gear mechanism for swinging said rotatable mem her, a clutch, a driving mechanism, a clutch interposed between said driving mechanism and said gear mechanism, a pair of guiding fingers aranged one at each side of the music sheet engaging same as it passes over the tracker bar, means connecting one of said fingers with said clutch mechanism. and adapted to release the same, and means connecting the other of said fingers with the clutch mechanism and adapted to move the clutch into operating contact, means for re winding the music roll, and means for moving the contact fingers out of engagement with the music shcet'during the rewinding.

5. In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination. with a stationary tracker bar and a transversely movable music roll, of pressure means for moving said music roll in one direction, a lever member adapted to move the music roll in the opposite direction, a pivotal arm connected with said lever member and adapted to swin said lever to move the roll, a gear mechanlsm connected with said pivotal arm, a clutch connected with said gear mechanism, means for driving said clutch coincident with the operation of unwinding the music roll, guiding fingers arranged upon the tracker bar, means connected with one of said guiding fingers for releasing the clutch, and means connected with the other of said guiding fingers for engaging the clutch,

6. In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination with a stationary tracker bar and frame support, of a longitudinally movable shaft arranged above said tracker bar, a music roll havin one end supported upon said longitudina 1y movable shaft, a longitudinally movable spindle supporting the other end of said music roll, a weighted lever operativel connected with said spindle to move same longitudinally in one direction, a lever pivotally mounted in the frame and engaging the outer end of the roll shaft, an arm'connected with said lover, a swinging arm pivotally connected to the lever arm, a train of gears operatively connected to said swinging arm, a clutch mem-- ber interposed in said train of gears, means for operating said train of gears coincident with the unwinding of the mnsic'roll, a pair of guiding fingers arranged one at each side of the music sheet and adapted to engage the same in passage Over the tracker bar. means operatively connecting said fingers to control said clutch to efi'ect the longitudinal displacement of the music roll in either direction to maintain its register with the tracker bar.

7. In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, the combination with the tracker bar and rolls supporting the music sheet, of a lever adapted to control the transverse movement of one of the aforesaid members to maintain registration between the music sheet and tracker bar, a pivotal member operativel connected with said lever, a car mechanism opera-ting said pivotal mem er, a clutch arranged in said gear mechanism having a longitudinally movable member, a lever adapted to move said clutch into operating engagement, a pivotal arm supported on the outer end of said lever, a pair of pivotal guide fingers supported from the tracker bar and engaging the sides of the music sheet, arod connecting one of said guide fingeers with the upper end of the pivotal mem r onthe clutch lever, and a rod connecting the lower end of the pivotal member on the clutch' lever with the other guiding finger.

8. In a tracker mechanism for player pianos, a frame, a winding roller supported at the bottom of the frame, a tracker bar supported ,intermediate of the heightof the frame, a music roll supported at the top of the frame, a driving shaft journaled intermediately between the supporting shafts for said rollers a sprocket wheel loosely mounted on said driving shaft and operatively connected with a sprocket Wheel on the music roll shaft, said loose sprocket Wheel having a laterally projecting tooth, a sleeve slidably mounted upon and rotating with the driving shaft and having at one end a tooth adapted to engage the tooth on said sprocket wheel and at the other end a spur pinion, a lever supported in the frame and operativoly connected with said sleeve to slide it upon the driving shaft, a spur gear mounted upon the winding roller shaft and adapted to mesh with the pinion of said sleeve, a train of gears arranged above said spur gear and adapted to mesh with the pinion on the slidirfg sleeve coincident with the meshing of said gear, a clutch meehanism arranged in said train of gears, a lever connected with said train of gears and 0p eratively engaging the music roll shaft and adapted to move same longitudinally," and means operatively engaging the music sheet and adapted to control. the operation of said clutch.

WILLIAM E, SHORE. 

